Rice University
Sam Houston State
Owls Cruise to 79-50 Victory over Bearkats
11/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Rice 79-Sam Houston St. 50 (PDF Box Score)
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The Rice Owls women's basketball team remained perfect to start the season with a convincing, start-to-finish 79-50 victory at Sam Houston State, Tuesday evening.
Rice improved to 4-0, marking the team's best start to a season since the 2007-08 campaign, and just the seventh 4-0 start in team history.
"I'm excited for the improvement that we showed on both ends of the floor tonight," Rice head coach Tina Langley said. "Defensively we were very intense and our communication was really good and I was proud of the way we battled on the boards. Offensively we really moved the ball well and made the extra pass. We played as a complete unit tonight."
Redshirt sophomore Erica Ogwumike led the way for the Owls with 19 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and three steals for Rice's first double-double performance of the season. Redshirt junior Nicole Iademarco complimented Ogwumike with 17 points and eight rebounds while junior Lauren Grigsby added an additional 11 points off the bench.
Rice won the battle of the boards (44-30) for a fourth straight game and recorded an assist on 20 of the team's 26 made field goals. The Owls outshot the Bearkats (53%-29%) and made 22-of-26 attempts at the free throw line (85%).
The Owls took the opening quarter from the Bearkats, 23-8, behind eight points and nine rebounds from Ogwumike. Rice shot 50 percent from the field in the quarter while limiting Sam Houston St. to 24 percent.
In the second quarter, Rice outscored Sam Houston 18-10 and shot 54 percent from the floor and Ogwumike notched her first career double-double as an Owl with minutes to spare before halftime.
On the defensive end, Rice held the Bearkats without a made three-point field goal (0-for-14) in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, the Owls outscored Sam Houston 38-32 en route to the 79-50 final score.
The Owls return home for their next game on Friday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. versus Little Rock.
-RiceOwls.com-
